Volatile and non-volatile nano-electromechanical switches fabricated in a CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator foundry process
Abstract Nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switches have the advantages of zero leakage current, abrupt switching characteristics, and harsh environmental capabilities. This makes them a promising component for digital computing circuits when high energy efficiency under extreme environmental conditions i...
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Nature Publishing Group
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Microsystems & Nanoengineering |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-025-00964-w |
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| author | Yingying Li Simon J. Bleiker Elliott Worsey Maël Dagon Pierre Edinger Alain Yuji Takabayashi Niels Quack Peter Verheyen Wim Bogaerts Kristinn B. Gylfason Dinesh Pamunuwa Frank Niklaus |
| author_facet | Yingying Li Simon J. Bleiker Elliott Worsey Maël Dagon Pierre Edinger Alain Yuji Takabayashi Niels Quack Peter Verheyen Wim Bogaerts Kristinn B. Gylfason Dinesh Pamunuwa Frank Niklaus |
| author_sort | Yingying Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switches have the advantages of zero leakage current, abrupt switching characteristics, and harsh environmental capabilities. This makes them a promising component for digital computing circuits when high energy efficiency under extreme environmental conditions is important. However, to make NEM-based logic circuits commercially viable, NEM switches must be manufacturable in existing semiconductor foundry platforms to guarantee reliable switch fabrication and very large-scale integration densities, which remains a big challenge. Here, we demonstrate the use of a commercial silicon-on-insulator (SOI) foundry platform (iSiPP50G by IMEC, Belgium) to implement monolithically integrated silicon (Si) NEM switches. Using this SOI foundry platform featuring sub-200 nm lithography technology, we implemented two different types of NEM switches: (1) a volatile 3-terminal (3-T) NEM switch with a low actuation voltage of 5.6 V and (2) a bi-stable 7-terminal (7-T) NEM switch, featuring either volatile or non-volatile switching behavior, depending on the switch contact design. The experimental results presented here show how an established CMOS-compatible SOI foundry process can be utilized to realize highly integrated Si NEM switches, removing a significant barrier towards scalable manufacturing of high performance and high-density NEM-based programmable logic circuits and non-volatile memories. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6ef576cd82304417a7f3d79ed6410cef |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2055-7434 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microsystems & Nanoengineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-6ef576cd82304417a7f3d79ed6410cef2025-08-20T04:03:03ZengNature Publishing GroupMicrosystems & Nanoengineering2055-74342025-07-0111111110.1038/s41378-025-00964-wVolatile and non-volatile nano-electromechanical switches fabricated in a CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator foundry processYingying Li0Simon J. Bleiker1Elliott Worsey2Maël Dagon3Pierre Edinger4Alain Yuji Takabayashi5Niels Quack6Peter Verheyen7Wim Bogaerts8Kristinn B. Gylfason9Dinesh Pamunuwa10Frank Niklaus11KTH Royal Institute of TechnologyKTH Royal Institute of TechnologyUniversity of BristolKTH Royal Institute of TechnologyKTH Royal Institute of TechnologyÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)IMECIMECKTH Royal Institute of TechnologyUniversity of BristolKTH Royal Institute of TechnologyAbstract Nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switches have the advantages of zero leakage current, abrupt switching characteristics, and harsh environmental capabilities. This makes them a promising component for digital computing circuits when high energy efficiency under extreme environmental conditions is important. However, to make NEM-based logic circuits commercially viable, NEM switches must be manufacturable in existing semiconductor foundry platforms to guarantee reliable switch fabrication and very large-scale integration densities, which remains a big challenge. Here, we demonstrate the use of a commercial silicon-on-insulator (SOI) foundry platform (iSiPP50G by IMEC, Belgium) to implement monolithically integrated silicon (Si) NEM switches. Using this SOI foundry platform featuring sub-200 nm lithography technology, we implemented two different types of NEM switches: (1) a volatile 3-terminal (3-T) NEM switch with a low actuation voltage of 5.6 V and (2) a bi-stable 7-terminal (7-T) NEM switch, featuring either volatile or non-volatile switching behavior, depending on the switch contact design. The experimental results presented here show how an established CMOS-compatible SOI foundry process can be utilized to realize highly integrated Si NEM switches, removing a significant barrier towards scalable manufacturing of high performance and high-density NEM-based programmable logic circuits and non-volatile memories.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-025-00964-w |
| spellingShingle | Yingying Li Simon J. Bleiker Elliott Worsey Maël Dagon Pierre Edinger Alain Yuji Takabayashi Niels Quack Peter Verheyen Wim Bogaerts Kristinn B. Gylfason Dinesh Pamunuwa Frank Niklaus Volatile and non-volatile nano-electromechanical switches fabricated in a CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator foundry process Microsystems & Nanoengineering |
| title | Volatile and non-volatile nano-electromechanical switches fabricated in a CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator foundry process |
| title_full | Volatile and non-volatile nano-electromechanical switches fabricated in a CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator foundry process |
| title_fullStr | Volatile and non-volatile nano-electromechanical switches fabricated in a CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator foundry process |
| title_full_unstemmed | Volatile and non-volatile nano-electromechanical switches fabricated in a CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator foundry process |
| title_short | Volatile and non-volatile nano-electromechanical switches fabricated in a CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator foundry process |
| title_sort | volatile and non volatile nano electromechanical switches fabricated in a cmos compatible silicon on insulator foundry process |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-025-00964-w |
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